christopher price

Baldinger: Unfair to lay it all on line

After Detroit was able to overwhelm the New England offensive line with an aggressive four-man rush and unnerve the quarterback, it sparked memories of recent playoff defeats to the Giants, Ravens and Jets. In each one of those games, it was a physical defensive front that pummeled the Patriots offensive line and harassed the quarterback into an uncharacteristically poor performance.

On Saturday, the Lions created havoc up front when defensive linemen like Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril controlled the tempo up front and were physical with the New England offensive line. Many times, they reached Brady before he threw, and if they didn’t sack him, certainly they altered his delivery. (Detroit ended up with two sacks and seven hits on Brady.) That style set the tone for the night on the way to a 34-10 loss for the Patriots.

While many pointed to breakdowns in the offensive line as the cause of New England’s problems, Brady said that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“When the quarterback gets sacked, a lot of times people blame the offensive line. Well, some of the times it’s the quarterback, some of the time it’s them having really tight coverage on the receivers,” Brady told WEEI Monday when asked about protection against Detroit. “A lot of it is just us as a team collectively making sure we’re all on the same page so that you don’t get sacked, you don’t throw an interception, you don’t have plays that are negative offensively, like penalties or lost yardage in the run game.”

“I would totally agree with that,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “It’s everything. Everybody involved in the passing game. The problems were much deeper than any one player blocking on the line in the passing game.”

While it was an ugly loss, Brian Baldinger, an analyst for the NFL Network and Fox Sports who spent 13 seasons in the league as an offensive lineman with Dallas, Indianapolis and Philadelphia, says the problems the Patriots had in that game were easily identifiable. He points to the fact that New England suffered some injuries and was forced to go with backups on the offensive line, and was playing with rookie Nate Solder.

Against a team like Detroit with a world-class defensive lineman in Suh and a front four that compares favorably with anyone else in the league, it adds up to a perfect storm for the Lions.

“Matt Light was in and out, and obviously [Solder] saw some time out there and Detroit was able to get a good pass rush on him,” Baldinger said. “[Right guard Dan] Connolly went out and that hurt the team a little bit, and [right tackle Sebastian] Vollmer is a good offensive lineman, but he also had some problems. I mean, even [left guard] Logan Mankins had problems, and that’s saying something. I don’t care who is going to be single blocking Suh, that guy is going to win those one-on-one battles.”

As a result, Brady struggled. Baldinger said that when it comes to protecting your quarterback, the Patriots are no different than any other team in the NFL.

“I talked to [Eagles coach] Andy Reid [Tuesday] and he brought that game up. They didn’t protect Mike Vick very well in their second preseason game, and then we saw Tom Brady bounce balls off the turf on Saturday,” Baldinger said. “If quarterbacks get hit early, I don’t care who they are, they are affected. [Reid] said, ‘It’s our job to protect the quarterback, especially on that first series.’ You never want your quarterback to get hit, especially on that first series.”

Baldinger said that while there were similarities between what the Lions did on Saturday against the Patriots and the Jets did in their playoff win in New England in January, once you scratch the surface there were some pretty significant differences between the two.

“It was different than the Jets game — the Jets showed zone coverage and played man. In that game, Brady just had nowhere to go with the ball — the Jets just blanketed the receivers,” he said. “On Saturday, the Lions just came out with a four-man front and they came flying off the football, and with those guys, you only need one guy in the middle who disrupts everything ... and they have that in Suh.

“These guys are good pass rushers, and anytime you can beat up someone else’s quarterback, you have an advantage.”

Baldinger doesn’t believe that the New England offensive line is in need of an overhaul. In fact, he indicates that the problems when it comes to protection are “fixable,” and some of it includes getting more game experience for Solder.

“Nate, I think, is an unbelievably athletic kid — that’s why he got drafted where he did — but he still needs time to develop. We really saw that on Saturday,” Baldinger said of the 17th overall pick in the draft. “It’s pretty easy to fall in love with his athletic ability. He can do a lot of things, some wonderful, athletic things, but when guys like that just get off the ball late and get all tangled up, they’re going to get beaten.”

If there’s one thing the Patriots can take solace in, it's the fact that when it comes to defensive scheme and personnel, Baldinger believes there’s only one other team in the NFL that can replicate that sort of defense.

“The one team that plays that sort of defense are the Eagles,” Baldinger said. “Detroit plays it better right now, but the Eagles have more experience and have been in that system longer. But they do the exact same thing that the Lions do.”

Butch Stearns joins Glenn and Fred to react to the Patriots victory over the Rams. They discuss Tom Brady's record setting 201st quarterback victory and debate if he is truly the greatest player of all time.

WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia and Ben Kichen of the 'Dale and Holley Show' talk about what the Celtics will need to do in order to be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference along with the Cavs.

The first hour of Saturday Skate starts up against the third period of Bruins - Sabres, so Ken Laird and Rear Admiral give some Red Sox hot stove and Rob Gronkowski thoughts before moving into Bruins - Sabres game reaction

Mut defends himself in voting for Trump despite Alex Reimer's claim that he only voted for him because he goes along with whatever Gerry said. Damien Woody joins the guys for his second Friday interview.

Damien Woody praises Tom Brady's work ethic and thinks he can play three or four more seasons. Woody thinks Brady pushed the limits on Deflategate but it didn't play a role in the Patriots beating the Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship game.

Glenn, Lou, and Christian are starting to think that the Ravens are the Pats biggest Rival. They cite the frequency with which they play, the importance of their games, the fact that the Ravens have won in Foxborough, and that they always play close games.

Glenn, Lou, and Christian react to John Tomase's comments on "The Hot Stove Show" last night, where he bagged on Dave Dombrowski fro decimating the Red Sox Farm System. Lou feels very strongly that Prospects exist to get big time Players. He also feels that the Red Sox are already the Chicago Cubs. Glenn rails against Tomase and other "Prospect Hoarders." Christian talks about "Beanie Babies."

Glenn, Lou, and Christian discuss Pablo Sandoval's conversation with ESPN Deportes, where he talks about a renewed interest in Baseball, getting healthy, and wanting his son to be able to see him play at a high level.

Kirk Minihane and Rich Keefe sit down to talk about what its like to join an already established show, how his start with the station has been received, and Kirk tries to get Rich to dish on his relationships with his former co-workers. For you listeners who think they may want to get into radio, Kirk gives Rich advice that could pertain to you as well.

Kirk Minihane, WEEI Podcast King, talks to the Podcast Godfather Adam Carolla about his new documentary about Le Mans, the backlash from the Election, and his time with Donald Trump on the Apprentice. The audio quality isn't great but the conversation is.

Kirk Minihane is a non-believer, Larry Johnson is a preacher, when Larry found Kirk doesn't believe in God he challenged Kirk to allow him on to the podcast to talk about religion and faith. Kirk and Larry have a tremendous conversation about God and Larry tries to convert Kirk into a believer.

Kirk Minihane and Rich Keefe sit down to talk about what its like to join an already established show, how his start with the station has been received, and Kirk tries to get Rich to dish on his relationships with his former co-workers. For you listeners who think they may want to get into radio, Kirk gives Rich advice that could pertain to you as well.

Episode 2 of the official podcast of Kirk & Callahan, as Kirk and Gerry acknowledge their first real on-air fight on that morning's show. The guys also discuss newbie Rich Keefe, Gary Tanguay, and Larry Bird's 60th birthday

Kirk Minihane and Rich Keefe sit down to talk about what its like to join an already established show, how his start with the station has been received, and Kirk tries to get Rich to dish on his relationships with his former co-workers. For you listeners who think they may want to get into radio, Kirk gives Rich advice that could pertain to you as well.

Episode 2 of the official podcast of Kirk & Callahan, as Kirk and Gerry acknowledge their first real on-air fight on that morning's show. The guys also discuss newbie Rich Keefe, Gary Tanguay, and Larry Bird's 60th birthday